Have you ever done funky wild thing in yoga class? Maybe on the dance floor? What’s that you wonder? Why it’s Parsva Vasisthasana! It’s what you’ve been missing in your life and yoga practice, I swear! I can’t really find an English translation of this pose so I am calling it funky wild thing. I will try to include a photo of it later, this photo is the traditional “Non-Shivafied” version, but the funky wild thing version is so much sweeter. This week I decided to bust out of my yoga teacher rut and taught and practiced a sequence which featured this pose from Shiva Rea’s Fluid Power DVD. My yoga teacher toolbox has some good sequences, but sometimes we all have to be pushed outside of our routines to experience something new. I love most styles of yoga, but Vinyasa yoga still has me by the heart strings. Each time I get on the mat and start flowing, the world around me drops, I smile, breathe, and enjoy feeling my muscles and body move in a way it should be (or so it feels at least). After the standard holiday excesses I am happy to find my way back to yoga this week. I think most people enjoy practicing yoga in a classroom format, but I really enjoy Shiva Rea’s DVDs and I highly recommend Fluid Power for anyone who is looking for a way to get into practicing at home or for new, fun, flowy vinyasa sequences. When writing this I also noticed she has a new DVD out, Daily Energy. I will be sure to check it out soon and let you know how it is.
This week I have meditated and practiced yoga asana every morning, eaten vegan, and ridden my bike every day. It’s been a great week. No matter how far I find myself from my nourishing routines at times, they always feel really good to come back to. It makes me wonder why I insist on veering so far off track, yet I know that is just the way it is and hopefully it is getting better with time. If you haven’t meditated, practiced yoga at home, eaten tons of fruits and veggies, or enjoyed some fresh air lately, I urge you to do so. These practices make me sparkle in so many ways.
I have a healthy little competition going with my man friend to see who can lose the most percentage of body weight within the next month or two (we haven’t decided how long this competition will last yet). It has been really fun! I am typically not a very competitive person, but I am enjoying this. It’s been interesting to notice peoples reactions to our competition. It often seems like many of the women I tell this to immediately internalize it and think it implies something about their own health or weight. “But you don’t need to lose weight!” I hear often. We decided to do this because we had both gained a little weight recently and although we are technically still a healthy weight by the books, we felt unhealthy and were heavier than we have been for most of our recent adult lives. A little pro activity now to prevent dramatic changes needed later in life. I plan on living until I’m 100 years old (at which point I’ll probably laugh at this blog) and I don’t want to do so miserably riddled with every degenerative disease in the book. I want to be vital, smiling, and kicking asana. I have learned that we can’t exactly question each other and our intentions and motivations when it comes to healthy living, but at least we can get a little inspiration from each other, if we want it. Compare not my friends.
I have no idea how old Dharma Mittra is, but wow.
